Electronic trading generally refers to a trading system that electronically matches orders by an electronic trading platform. Current examples of electronic trading platforms include the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”) Globex® trading system, the Chicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”) e-cbot, and Eurex, just to name a few. A trading system that matches orders electronically is also referred to herein as an “electronic exchange.” Exchanges like the CME Group, which includes the CME and CBOT, currently offer trading via open outcry in addition to electronic trading.
With respect to electronic exchanges, traders connect to an electronic trading platform by way of a communication link through their client devices. Once connected, traders select which tradeable objects they wish to trade. As used herein, the term “tradeable object” refers to anything that can be traded with a quantity and/or a price. It includes, but is not limited to, traded events, goods and/or financial products such as stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, and warrants, as well as funds, derivatives and collections of the foregoing, and all types of commodities, such as grains, energy, and metals. The tradeable object may be “real,” such as products that are listed by an exchange, or “synthetic,” such as a combination of real products that is created by the trader. A tradeable object could actually be a combination of other tradeable objects, such as a class of tradeable objects.
Sometimes, on their machines, traders use automated or semi-automated trading tools, collectively hereinafter referred to as “automated tools” that automatically or semi-automatically send orders to the exchange. Such automated tools are usually provided, among other things, to facilitate fast and accurate order entry. For instance, an automated tool might quickly calculate one or more order parameters, such as an order price or order quantity, based on market conditions or some other reference condition, and then automatically send an order with these parameters to an exchange for matching.
In addition to trading individual tradeable objects, many traders often implement trading strategies that involve simultaneous trading of two or more tradeable objects. One such trading strategy is commonly referred to as spread trading. In general, spread trading is the buying and/or selling of one, two, or more tradeable objects, one purpose of which is to capitalize on changes or movements in the relationships between the tradeable objects. The tradeable objects that are used to complete a spread are referred to as the outright markets or legs of the spread. A spread trade could involve buying tradeable objects, buying and selling tradeable objects, selling tradeable objects or some combination thereof.
A commercially available trading tool that facilitates the automatic trading of spreads is Autospreader™ from Trading Technologies International, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. Once the legs of the spread are chosen and the relationship between them are defined, a trader can input a desired spread price and quantity, and the Autospreader™ will automatically work orders in the legs to achieve the desired spread (or attempt to achieve the spread). The Autospreader™ is currently an add-on tool available with X_TRADER) Pro™, which is a trading application also available from Trading Technologies International, Inc. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/137,979, entitled, “System and Method for Performing Automatic Spread Trading,” filed on May 3, 2002, the contents of which are fully incorporated by reference herein, describes an automated spread trading tool.
Using an automated trading tool such as Autospreader™, a trader can input a price to buy or sell the spread, and the automated trading tool will automatically work orders in the legs to achieve, or attempt to achieve the trader's desired price for the spread. For instance, a trader might define buying a spread as buying in leg A and selling in leg B. According to that definition, if the trader inputs a desired price to buy the spread, the automated trading tool will place a buy order in leg A, based on the best price that a sell order could be filled at in leg B. The best price in leg B is also known as the price that the buy order in leg A is based on, or the “leaned on price”. The leaned on price is located at the price level that has sufficient quantity available to satisfy the quantity of the order placed in leg A. If a price level does not have sufficient quantity, then the automated tool leans on the next price level that does such that the risk of getting legged up is reduced. The instant that the order in leg A is filled, the automated trading tool submits an offsetting hedge order to leg B at the leaned on price. However, if at the time that the order in leg A is filled there is insufficient quantity available at the leaned on price, then the trader may become “legged up” and there will be an increased likelihood that the trader's spread will fail.
As the market in leg B moves, the order in leg A may be re-priced to achieve the desired spread price. Re-pricing an order typically involves canceling the existing order and replacing it with a new order at another price. While effective for achieving a desired spread price, re-pricing can result in the new order being placed at the end of an order queue corresponding to the order's new price at the electronic exchange. If, the new order loses queue position, then it may decrease the likelihood that the order will get filled, or increase the likelihood that the trader will get “legged up.”